


Achievement Hunter Academy

by xCabooseRTRvB



Series: AHOT12 [4]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: AHOT12 later on in the story, All relationships will come eventually, M/M, Multi, Not currently
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-03-17 21:46:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3544916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xCabooseRTRvB/pseuds/xCabooseRTRvB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rooster Teeth consists of three major cities, Achievement City, Animatia, and Livation. It also hosts an annual competition between the three cities known as the Rooster Teeth Games where competitors from various academies compete for the Tower of Pimps. May the best team win!</p><p>I need help! Read my notes to know!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Invitations

**Author's Note:**

> I've been planning and writing this for like a month.
> 
> I need your help, readers!
> 
> I want to know what kind of ships you want to see in this. Though, it'll end up in AHOT12 eventually. So relationships could come and go in this story. For example, I could have Freewood at some point, but then they could break up and get with other people or Miles and Kerry in a relationship at some point. Whatever you guys want and I'll try my best! If no one asks for a ship, then I won't have any or I'll add maybe one or two.
> 
> Anyway, just read the story!

_"Greetings fellow Achievian,_

_You have been invited to attend the prestigious academy known as Achievement Hunter Academy, an academy that teaches you how to hone your skills on VEMP gameplay. VEMP -- virtual, emotional, mental, and physical -- gameplay is the highest level of gaming anyone could master and throughout your four years in Achievement Hunter Academy, you will study VEMP. For many years, the three academies -- Achievement Hunter Academy, RWBY Academy, and Funhaus Academy -- has guided many people to victory and has given many chances for their students to win the coveted Tower of Pimps from the Rooster Teeth Games. The Rooster Teeth Games have been held for over one hundred years and continues to be the most important event of the year in Rooster Teeth. This invitation could give you the chance of possibly achieving the Tower of Pimps on your third and fourth years at the academy._

_We've invited over one hundred of you to attend, but we can only accept a handful of you. Reply with your application quickly and we'll look them all over throughout the summer and contact you all on who was accepted and who wasn't. Good luck._

_Your fellow gamers,_

_The AHA Staff_

_Rooster Teeth, where gaming meets the world."_

Staring at the holographic pad for what seemed like an eternity, Ray excitedly ran to his room and his computer turned on once he stepped inside his room. Placing the holographic pad onto his desk, Ray picked up his phone to call his best friend as he sat down and the computer's holographic screen appeared in front of him. He tapped on the web browser icon and clicked on his most visited website, the Achievement Hunter Academy official website. Ray put his phone on his desk as he brought up all his contacts and scrolled through until he found 'Ryan Haywood', tapping the name and waiting patiently for Ryan to pick up the phone.

 _"Hello?"_ Ryan answered the phone as a small screen popped up with half of Ryan on the screen and he wasn't even looking at the camera -- he was probably on the computer.

Scrolling through the website mindlessly, Ray replied excitedly, "Hey, could you get on later? I have huge news that I want to tell you!"

 _"Why not just tell me now?"_ Ryan asked.

"Because, I don't want to." Ray said. "Plus, I still have to go to the hospital in like five minutes."

Ryan sighed and pursed his lips, _"I don't know. I mean, I still have to pick up my dad from 'work'."_ Ryan added quotation marks with his hands, _"And I have to finish an application before I pick him up."_

Application took Ray's attention from his screen to Ryan, "Application? For what?"

Unsure, Ryan glanced at the camera quickly and turned back to his screen, _"Well, I got a message from AHA and they invited me to join."_ Ryan looked prepared for Ray's onslaught of questions that never came. _"Judging by how you're not overly dramatic right now, I'm guessing that's the huge news you had to tell me."_

Ray only nodded and smiled at his friend, "Alright, well, since that's out of the way and you spoiled my fun, I'm gonna get ready and I'll be back in two hours. Will you be on later tonight?" Ray asked hopefully.

 _"Yes, I will be. Make sure you don't fall asleep next time."_ Ryan remarked.

"That was only once!" Ray said as he stood up to grab his things. "Could you do the application for me, Rye?"

 _"No."_ Ryan answered immediately. _"If you want to attend AHA, then you better do that application yourself."_

"Aw, but it's so boring!" Ray whined.

 _"It'll only take ten minutes at most. Don't be a big baby. Anyway, you have like one minute to make it to the hospital. Say Happy Birthday to her for me."_ Ryan informed as Ray cursed under his breath and ended the call with Ryan after saying goodbye, taking the holographic pad and phone with him and running out of his house. Flipping open his gauntlet, Ray entered a pattern on a number pad and a hover board materialized in front of him as he jumped on and flew through the neighborhood quickly to get to the hospital in time. Bouncing off his hover board and watching it disintegrate past him, Ray walked hurriedly to the entrance of the hospital and entered another pattern on his gauntlet as the doors to the hospital opened. Easily finding the right room since he's come here millions of times before, Ray slowly and quietly slipped into the room and walked over to the bed as he saw his mother sleeping soundly on the bed.

Taking a seat next to the bed and watching the monitors and his mother quietly, Ray examined his mother as she laid there motionless. "Hey, uh, I just got word today that I was invited to AHA. I mean, AHA, the academy I've wanted to attend for years and now I finally can. I know how much I bugged you on how awesome the academy is and I'm sorry that I did, but I just want you to know that I'll win the RTG. No matter what and however long it takes me, I'll win RTG. Remember how Dad used to go on and on on how he almost won and how his opponents cheated and no one believed him." Ray chuckled, it was a very vivid memory to him. "But we both let him know that we believed him and that apparently was enough for him. Anyway, Ryan told me to say 'Happy Birthday' to you again for some reason. It's still in two months, but Ryan's a weirdo." Ray pursed his lips as he slouched into the chair. "I hope you wake up soon, Mom." Standing up, Ray kissed his mother's forehead and turned to leave as he stopped near the entrance of the room and turned to stare at his mother a minute longer. "I'll be back tomorrow." He left the room without another word.

"You're not staying tonight, Ray?" The lady -- he never learned her name -- at the front desk asked.

Ray shook his head, "Nope, not today. I have a lot to do and I have to watch the house since the housekeeper is out of town." The lady smiled sympathetically and he returned a forced smile before leaving the building to head back home. His phone rang when he left the hospital and Ray picked up without bothering to look at the ID as he got on his hover board and flew slowly back home. "Hello?"

This time a screen didn't pop up, so Ray assumed that this person toggled the camera button and he decided to connect his phone to an earpiece so he wouldn't have to hold his phone. _"Yo Ray, I have a favor to ask you and this is a serious favor this time."_

"What do you mean 'this time', Troll?" Ray asked.

_"Okay, change that to two favors. One, stop calling me Troll. Two, I need you to get the X310-RT81 intel motherboard from the shop across town."_

Ray sighed, "What's in it for me?" Even though he asked, he started heading towards the computer shop anyway because he's a nice person and he'd like to keep it that way.

_"First off, I won't be hacking anything this time and I need it because this is for my new laptop I'm gonna bring to campus in the Fall."_

"AHA?"

_"Yup. You?"_

"Of course, I'm the best gamer in the neighborhood." Ray explained as he chuckled. "I'm heading to the shop. Anything else you need, Kdin?"

 _"Mission accomplished, you called me 'Kdin' instead of 'Troll'. Now I just have to get Gavin to stop calling me Fügz."_ Kdin said, triumphantly. _"Also, no. I just need the motherboard. Bring it to me whenever you can, unless you decide to do it on the first day of class. Thanks Ray!"_ Kdin hung up and Ray jumped off the hover board, landing in front of the shop. Entering the shop and immediately going to the computer part section, Ray browsed through all the motherboards and noticed that the motherboard that Kdin wanted wasn't available. Asking someone who worked there if they had extra motherboards, Ray sighed when they said they sold the last one earlier today and were all out of stock, so they weren't going to get another shipment until a week later.

Thanking the worker, Ray left and called Kdin, "They're all out of stock." Kdin started laughing and Ray knew immediately that Kdin was a dick. Well, he knew that already, but Kdin sucks dick too. "You're an asshole." Ray said, annoyed.

 _"Please, tell me something I don't know."_ Ray waited impatiently for Kdin to calm down from his fit of laughter. _"Oh fuck, that was fucking hilarious."_

"Yea, so fucking funny. What the fuck do you actually want before I go to your house and murder the fuck out of you?" Ray asked, angrily.

There was a slight pause, _"I fucked up, didn't I? Damn, what time is it?"_ There was silence for a few seconds before Kdin started talking again. _"Shit. Fuck, Ray, I didn't know what time it was. Sorry."_ Kdin apologized and he actually sounded sincere, but Ray wasn't buying any of it.

"How the hell do you forget that every single day for the past year I've visited my mom at four pm? How the fuck do you forget that?" Ray was seriously done with Kdin's shit.

 _"Look, I'm sorry. Honestly, I am and I'll make it up to you, somehow."_ Kdin insisted.

Though Ray didn't care, Kdin fucked up and Ray couldn't care less if he was sorry or not. "Go to hell, Kdin Jenzen." Ray hung up before Kdin could say anything else and decided to walk home instead, so he could have the time to think.

°~∆∆∆~°

"Son of a bitch, I fucked up. I fucked up!" Kdin hit his desk hard and Michael raised his eyebrow at him as he sat on Kdin's bed, solving a Rubik's cube as he waited for Kdin to explain since Michael couldn't hear Ray's half of the discussion because Kdin used his earpiece. "He's gonna kill me."

Michael solved the Rubik's cube and checked his stopwatch, one minute and eighteen seconds. Not bad. He put down the cube and looked back at Kdin, "Judging by what time it is, you talking to Ray, asking him to find a motherboard you already have, and you laughing your ass off, I assume that you considered it a joke but he didn't and now he's pissed off because when you called him, it was ten minutes past four. Good job, dickhead." Michael explained and Kdin only nodded, ashamedly. "So, how _are_ you going to make it up to him?"

Sighing, Kdin ran a hand through his hair, "I don't know. I'm not good that these sympathetic things." Giving Michael a look, Kdin was disappointed when Michael shook his head. "Really?"

"Considering it's your fault, I think you should fix it yourself." Michael explained as Kdin groaned. "Hey, maybe you should stop being a troll and actually take things seriously for once. I mean, trolling Ray is dangerous. He'll either be pissed off or he'll make a joke about it and right now, he's pissed off. So fix it."

"How?"

"Figure out that one on your own." Michael replied as he took out his phone.

"Okay, fine, I'll give you the codes!" Kdin gave in and Michael looked up at him, raising his eyebrows. "I swear! I'll give you the codes and you won't have to worry anymore." Kdin promised, raising his hands up in defense.

Smiling triumphantly, Michael laughed, "Good. Okay, so why is Ray mad?"

"Because I'm an asshole."

Michael chuckled and continued, "Why did you decide to do that to Ray and not one of the others?"

Taking the time to think about it, Kdin actually didn't even know the answer to that. He could have easily went to one of the others and asked them to do the same thing, but for some reason he had chosen Ray and for a reason he didn't even know. "I... I don't know..." Kdin replied in defeat.

Pursing his lips, Michael sucked in a breath, questioning his tactics, "How long have you known Ray?"

"I'd say like five years."

"How long have I known Ray?"

Kdin suddenly thought that these questions would get easier, "Same amount of time."

"Exactly, so all of the stuff _I_ know about Ray, _you_ know about Ray. We both know that it's been a year since his mom has been hospitalized and all of us had known about it because Ray wanted us to know. He wanted us to help him in the tough times. Why did you feel obligated to do that to Ray?"

Suddenly getting very confused, Kdin sighed, "I don't know."

"Think in that big brain of yours, Bro." Michael tapped on his head. "Why Ray?"

"I already said I don't fucking know!" Kdin reasoned.

"No, there's a reason for it and you just need to find it." Michael wasn't about to give up, he had to get Kdin to realize why he did it. "Why Ray and not the others?"

"There's no reason I could think of that is -- well -- reasonable."

"You're just avoiding the reason. You're trying to deny it. I know you better than any of the others. I know why you do specific things to get what you want."

"Then why won't you just enlighten me?" Kdin questioned Michael's motives.

"Because this is your problem and you need to realize it."

"There's nothing I need to realize, if I don't have a reason."

" _You do_ have a reason. So, I'm asking you again. Why. Are. _You_. Giving. Ray. A. Reason. To. _Hate_. You?" Michael asked, clearly.

"I don't know!"

"Just answer the simple question."

"Because I _hat_ e myself!" Kdin shouted and it echoed around the house as Michael pursed his lips. Leaning forward in his chair and holding his head, he repeated softly, "Because I hate myself."

Warily watching the younger male, Michael decided to grab Kdin's arm and pull him into a hug as Kdin's eyes widened. He didn't want Michael's sympathy, but he knew him, he knew that Michael wasn't going to let him go any time soon. So, he sat there, stiff as a brick, while Michael tried to calm him. Sighing, Michael knew this wasn't working and pulled away as Kdin quickly sat on the chair and Michael tried not to feel offended. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this, anyway? "That was a problem long ago and you stood above it in the end. It's over and you need to face facts." Michael said smiling at the other.

"That I'm an asshole." Kdin joked.

"Well, other than that."

Waving away Michael's concern, Kdin replied, "Yea, yea, I know what you're talking about. By the way, you're not getting the codes."

Raising his eyebrow, Michael asked, "Why is that?"

"Because I asked you to help me make amends with Ray, not have me realize that I'm an even bigger dick than I thought I was."

"Well, I was still helpful."

"Yea, thanks asshole."

"Any time." Picking up the forgotten Rubik's cube, Michael decided to time himself again. "And you're still giving me those codes, unless you want a huge surprise in the morning." Smirking, Michael watched as Kdin's face turned from confusion to realization.

"Fine..." Kdin gave in. Standing up, Michael ruffled Kdin's hair and started to exit his room. "Michael?" Stopping, Michael slightly turned and silently told Kdin to continue, "Thanks."

Smiling, Michael replied, "What kind of a big brother would I be, if I didn't help my little brother?"

Rolling his eyes, Kdin returned the smile, "Well, I'm pretty sure brothers weren't supposed to hug like that."

"Yea well, it was in the heat of the moment." Michael claimed.

" _Sure_. It's not like you purposefully made it the gayest hug ever. Oh wait."

"Yup, you're still an asshole. Thanks for reminding me."

"No problem."

"Just don't bother Ray anymore. I'll take care of it. And I'll take care of your shift today too."

"Thanks." Responding with a smile, Michael left the room.

Watching the other leave his room, Kdin turned his attention to his ringing phone and reluctantly picked up, "Hello?"

_"Hey, Jenzen, I need your help."_

Raising his eyebrows at who it was, Kdin smirked, "Why should I lend my help to someone who barely even knows me?"

Geoff bit his lip, _"I need your hacking skills."_ Geoff practically pleaded.

Suddenly interested, Kdin leaned forward in his chair and smiled, "I'm listening."

°~∆∆∆~°

Kids ran around the house and left a mess behind them and Geoff was getting fed up, "FILSS, I need help right now." Geoff announced as he tried to keep his siblings in check.

"Certainly." A moment later, the aroma of baked goods swept across the room and all of the kids ran to the kitchen hurriedly and hungrily stuffed their mouths with cookies.

Sighing, Geoff walked into the kitchen, "I was trying to avoid them from getting more sugar high than they already were. But thanks anyway FILSS." Watching his seven younger siblings eat cookies until they were all gone, Geoff smiled to himself. Even though it's a lot of work to keep seven kids in check, Geoff still enjoyed taking care of them and as the only father figure in the house, he was supposed to make sure that all of them were disciplined and at the same time had fun. Clapping his hands together, Geoff gained their attention, "Okay, who wants to watch a movie?" He immediately heard a chorus of 'me's' and they held their hands up high. "Whoever gets to the couch first gets to pick the movie. Hey, not yet. Ready? Set? Go!" Geoff watched them race off and they all jumped onto the couch as they laughed and announced how they were first.

"Who was first?" Aiden asked excitedly as Geoff thought about it.

He didn't really see who won, so he decided to pick his quietest sibling, "Lucas." Lucas looked up at Geoff and Geoff gestured for him to go pick a movie and he reluctantly did. "Okay, stay on the couch while I pop some popcorn or else you don't get anymore of FILSS's cookies." They nodded as Lucas picked a movie and gave it to Geoff, who quickly put in the disk and went to the kitchen to make popcorn. "FILSS, please turn on the camera and tell me if any of them move when I'm not looking." Without getting an answer, Geoff saw a small monitor roll down and a clear picture of his siblings watching the movie appeared as he put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. It rang five seconds later and Geoff took out the bag of popcorn, getting a huge bowl and pouring all of the popcorn in it. He came back and put the bowl in the center on the coffee table and went to his room to check on some things.

Answering his phone when it rang, Geoff looked through his desk, _"Hey Geoff!"_ A thick accent resonated from his speaker and Geoff smiled immediately.

"Sup, buddy?" Geoff asked as he organized his desk and checked on the kids quickly.

 _"Guess what!"_ Gavin replied.

"You have a dick?" Geoff joked.

_"No, I already have a dick."_

"I'm not so sure about that." Geoff said, chuckling.

 _"Aw, c'mon Geoff! I have great news I want to tell you!"_ Gavin shouted excitedly.

Smiling, Geoff watched as Gavin bounced in his chair, "Alright, what happened this time? You finally realized your feelings to someone?"

 _"What? No! I was invited to attend AHA!"_ Gavin replied.

"Really? They invited an amateur gamer like you to join AHA?" Geoff asked, not convinced.

 _"Don't be mean. I'm excited to know that they want me to join such a reputable academy!"_ Gavin explained.

"Well, you know you're not in the academy yet."

_"Yea, I know! But I'm honored to know that they think I'm good at games!"_

"Well, I hope you join the academy and I give you my best wishes." Geoff replied, honestly.

 _"Well..."_ Gavin trailed off and Geoff turned back to his phone where he saw Gavin pursing his lips. _"I was kind of hoping that you'd join with me. If you weren't invited, then I won't join."_

Geoff quickly sat in his chair and looked into the camera, "What? Gavin, no! You can't just give up your dream like that." Geoff tried to reason with him. "Plus, I haven't checked yet."

 _"Then go check, you donut."_ Gavin commanded, lightly, and smiled. Sighing, Geoff looked through his recent messages and found nothing that could have come from AHA. Worried, Geoff had to think. Would he rather tell the truth that he wasn't invited to join AHA and have Gavin give up his dream? Or would he rather lie and somehow get into AHA secretly and have Gavin fulfill his dream? Only one decision sounded better, but Geoff considered the consequences to both situations and told Gavin his answer.

"Yea, I was invited." Geoff said, almost sadly.

Unaware of Geoff's mood, Gavin smiled and slouched back in his chair, _"That's a relief. Well, I got to go Geoff, I gotta go meet up with Ray! See ya!"_ Gavin waved and Geoff slowly waved back and their call disconnected.

"You didn't get invited, did you?" Geoff practically fell out of his chair and looked up at who stood at his doorway.

Geoff sighed and got up, "You fucking scared the crap out of me, Jack."

"That was half of my intention." Jack replied as he leaned on the wall and crossed his arms.

"Also, to answer your question, no, I wasn't invited to the academy." Geoff admitted, half-heartedly. "I mean, Gavin was going to fucking not apply if I wasn't invited and probably wouldn't attend if I wasn't accepted."

"Was it really smart to lie about it?" Jack asked.

"No, I know it wasn't smart, but I have a way of getting into the academy." Geoff claimed.

"You're joking." Jack hoped Geoff wasn't thinking what Jack thought he was thinking.

"Yup." God dammit, Jack thought as he left the room shaking his head. Geoff went to his phone and clicked on one of his contacts, waiting patiently for the answer.

 _"Hello?"_ The camera was off and Geoff expected that, but he left his camera on.

"Hey, Jenzen, I need your help." Geoff said, immediately getting straight to the point.

There was a moment of silence before Kdin asked, _"Why should I lend my help to someone who barely even knows me?"_

Biting his lip, Geoff answered, "I need your hacking skills."

Another moment of silence. _"I'm listening."_

"Good, I need you to hack into the Achievement Hunter Academ--"

 _"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! You want me to put your name on the list of invitations?"_ Geoff nodded and Kdin continued, _"What the fuck is wrong with you?"_

Geoff shrugged, "A lot of things. And I was kind of hoping that if Gavin got accepted that I'll get accepted too."

_"Look, Ramsey, I'd be happy to help you with anything else, but hacking into AHA's database? You've got to be crazy."_

"You can't do it?"

 _"It's not that I_ can't _do it. It's that I_ don't want _to do it. If they trace the hacking back to me, then I'll be kicked out of the academy. Why do you think I haven't hacked into it to put my name on the list sooner? Because I don't want to fucking lose my chance of actually having my parents approve of me."_

"I'm only asking for a simple favor--"

 _"Geoff! This is_ not _a simple favor! You're asking me to go to a coma for the rest of my life."_

"Jenzen, you're not going to go to a coma. I promise it'll only be this."

 _"Doing this alone is still stupid!"_ Kdin reasoned with Geoff, but Geoff wanted Gavin to follow his dream, so he'll do what he has to. _"Why do you even want to? You'd never talk to me about hacking unless you have a good reason."_

"Gavin won't join the academy if I don't." Geoff simply said and there was silence for a while that Geoff almost thought that Kdin hung up, but he heard him sigh.

_"Only this once."_

"Thank you, Kdin."

_"Yea, yea, whatever. Just don't make me regret my mistakes."_

"I think you already do."

_"You're not helping."_

"I know and I owe you one."

 _"Yes you do. Which reminds me, I have a problem."_ Geoff hummed in response as Kdin continued, _"Ray is mad at me and I need a way to make amends with him. Michael said that he'll take care of it, but I don't think that will change anything."_

Sitting back in his chair, Geoff thought for a moment, "Apologize. Just apologize and don't do whatever you did again. You'll have to promise him that."

 _"Okay, I'll talk to you later, Ramsey, when I'm done putting you on the list. Better make that application."_ Kdin hung up without a goodbye like he usually does and Geoff felt a sudden weight lifted off of his chest. At least he didn't have to worry about Gavin anymore.

°~∆∆∆~°

Staring at their new house in disappointment, Matt felt Jeremy pat him on the back, "Hey, don't worry about it, you'll love Achievement City." Jeremy smiled and Matt half returned it. "Didn't you like playing games?" Jeremy asked as Matt shook his head.

"It's not that. I'm an Architor. You're a Chemitian. Jeremy," Matt dramatically grabbed Jeremy's shoulders and shook him, "we don't belong in a world full of Teethers!"

"Teethers? Is that what the other world calls us?" A girl with red hair walked up to them and held out her hand, "I'm Lindsay."

The two reluctantly shook her hand and Jeremy replied, "I'm Jeremy, this is Matt." He pointed to himself, then his best friend. "The 'other world' doesn't have a specific name for you guys other than Gamers, so people make up names."

Smiling, Lindsay said, "It's okay, we don't really have a name for you guys either. But I hear that most people from Envision are called Inventors."

"Well, that is who we are and how we were raised, to invent." Jeremy answered and noticed how Matt was feeling awkward and skeptical. "Anyway, think you could show us around Achievement City once we're done unloading?"

"No, don't worry! You don't have to unpack! We may be focused on games almost all the time, but we have an AI that everyone can access at any given time. FILSS could supply you with anything you want and FILSS'll do whatever without hesitation, unless it seems dangerous."

"Why FILSS?" Matt asked, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"It's an acronym, but I don't really remember what it specifically means. FILSS?" Lindsay asked out loud.

"How may I help you, Lindsay Tuggey of Achievement City?" FILSS asked as the two friends exchanged doubtful looks.

"Lindsay, uh, did the Rooster Teeth executives create FILSS?" Jeremy asked, carefully.

"Nope, your executives did." Lindsay turned her attention back to the AI. "Could you please put all of their boxes neatly inside their house?"

"Not a problem." FILSS responded as a conveyor belt suddenly came out of the truck and extended into the house as the various boxes were being rolled away and the boxes were hugging the wall so they could move around in the house freely without tripping over any of the boxes. "Will that be all?"

Smiling at the air, Lindsay answered, "For now, yes. Come on, we don't have all day!" She exclaimed excitedly as the two followed her and she introduced them to Achievement City. After a while, Lindsay asked, "So, is Envision this beautiful?" They were sitting down on the grass somewhat below a tree, watching as the sun was setting below the horizon.

"If you call tall buildings, little-to-no clean air to breathe, barely any plants to show that nature even existed, technology everywhere 'beautiful', then yea, it's 'beautiful'." Matt remarked as Jeremy elbowed him, but he continued. "I mean, I've just breathed in the most clean air here than I ever will in one year at Envision."

"Matt, just shut the fuck up!" Jeremy warned and turned to Lindsay. "Sorry."

Lindsay blinked and waved off Jeremy's concern, "You hated Envision that much." It was more of a statement than a question.

"I didn't hate it." Matt replied quietly.

Studying Matt carefully, Lindsay turned to Jeremy, "Can I ask you something, Jeremy?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Lindsay looked up at the violet sky, "Why did you two move here? What's so special about Rooster Teeth that you had to leave Envision -- your home? I don't mean to get into your personal lives, but I wanna know." Silence filled the air as the two thought about it. "You don't have to answer, but when you want to, make sure to tell me. I'd love to know." Standing up and stretching, Lindsay yawned, "So, how about we go eat something?" The two stood up and nodded in agreement, "Envision doesn't have a money system, right?" They nodded and Lindsay smiled, "Good! At least I don't have to deal with that. Where do you guys prefer?"

"Anywhere is fine for me." Jeremy replied.

"I don't care." Matt said as Lindsay picked out the best place for them to eat at for their first time being there.

Walking into the restaurant, Lindsay scoped out the inside of the building, "There's an open seat over there." She pointed at a booth located near the back of the restaurant. "Go and sit, I'll go talk to the employees who work here."

"You know them?" Matt asked.

"I know all of them because I half work here and half work as a vet. Hold on, I'll be right back." Lindsay went to the front counter as the Envisions sat at the table, awkwardly watching their surroundings and waiting impatiently for Lindsay to come back.

Once Lindsay sat down and gave them both menus, Matt mentioned half-heartedly, "You have jobs other than play video games? I thought all of the people who work would be people who don't have anywhere else to go."

"They aren't slaves. We aren't heartless people. We take everyone in with open arms and give them a place that they'll be comfortable with. If they don't like Rooster Teeth, then we point them to another nation. But if they don't want to go anywhere else, then we'd be happy to keep them here. Plus, almost everyone in the city have another job than just play games."

"Sorry, if I offended you." Matt responded as he sat back in the chair.

Chuckling, Lindsay smiled, "No, you didn't offend me. I just want others to know that the stereotypes aren't true about all gamers, just some. We still have those people who don't care about anyone."

A waiter walked up to their table, "First time here in Achievement City?" He asked the two as they nodded.

"How'd you know?" Jeremy asked.

"The way you dress." The waiter simply said. "It's business-like, I guess you could say, so you're from Envision."

"Correct."

"Anyway, I'm Caleb and I'll be your waiter for today. We'll start with drinks." Caleb said as he took out a notepad and a pen.

"Just water for the two of us." Jeremy answered, gesturing to himself and Matt.

Writing, Caleb turned to Lindsay, "And you, Miss Red Hair?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Lindsay replied, smiling.

"Nope. Would you like to order now or do you still need a little bit more time?"

"More time, I'll explain the menu to them." Smiling, Caleb left as he went to get their drinks.

Once Caleb was out of hearing range, Jeremy asked, "Is everyone in Achievement City observant?"

"Yes, we have to be. We're gamers, we need to know our surroundings. Though, Caleb will be a bit more observant than us. You'll figure out why soon."

Soon enough, they were eating and chatting about anything they could -- Matt and Jeremy talked about Envision and Lindsay talked about Rooster Teeth. The three of them learned a lot about each other and the day wasn't even close to being over, it was still seven pm. After they were done eating, they decided to stay at the restaurant for a while to meet Lindsay's co-workers since it was almost closing time.

"They're great people. You'll love them." Lindsay said confidently as they saw four people walk up to their table.

"Love is an understatement." Michael said.

"Only four of you were working?" Jeremy asked, exasperatedly, as they nodded. "But this place was packed."

"That's why we're the best restaurant in Achievement City." Lindsay replied. "Anyway, there are ten of us who actually work here. Geoff, who isn't here right now, -- probably taking care of the kids -- is the owner of this restaurant. Jack," she pointed at a man with a majestic beard, "is our supervisor, he keeps us in line and makes sure everything runs smoothly, occasionally helping us if we need it -- we usually don't. Caleb, Kerry, and Gavin," she pointed at two of them, who were wearing black waist aprons "are our waiters and Gavin isn't here, so you'll see him around eventually. Ryan, Kdin, Michael, Ray, and I all cook or bake or whatever. We make the food for our happy customers, basically. Half of us aren't here, but if you decide to come back, we'd be happy to accompany you to wherever you want to go."

Just then, someone came in with two holographic pads for Matt and Jeremy, "Welcome to Rooster Teeth, Architor, Chemitian." The messenger bowed, then left.

"What's this?" Matt asked, staring at the holographic pad like it was a weapon. Ironic, to think an Architor would seem afraid of something they've made.

"Do all people who move here get these?" Jeremy asked as he examined the exterior of the holographic pad and turned it on accidentally, which also turned on Matt's holographic pad.

Someone popped up on the screen and all of the Achievians recognized who it was and they exchanged looks. The headmaster of Achievement Hunter Academy spoke up.

_"Greetings Architor and Chemitian,_

_We have noticed your interest in games for the past few years. Although you are fairly new to Achievement City, we have decided to invite you to Achievement Hunter Academy. A prestigious academy known all throughout Rooster Teeth and aids you in learning VEMP gameplay. We know that this is very sudden, but we'd like to have you. Any other information or questions about Achievement Hunter Academy, you may turn to your new friends."_ The headmaster gestured to the Achievians and they only just realized that the headmaster was talking to them, it wasn't a recording. _"Good luck, Envisions."_

"What the fuck just happened?" Kerry asked, turning to all of the others.

"Did you just get asked personally to join AHA by the headmaster?" Jack asked.

"Looks like it." Michael answered. "That's fucking awesome!"

"I have no idea what happened." Matt spoke up and he looked to Jeremy, but he just shrugged. He turned to the others, "An explanation might be helpful."

"Dude, you just got invited to AHA, an academy where you learn VEMP gameplay and you get two chances to participate in the Rooster Teeth Games to win the Tower of Pimps!" Michael explained, excitedly. The two looked lost, "Look, it's a big deal to us, okay?"

"I can tell." Matt responded.

"If I were you, I would apply. It's a smart thing to do. Especially if this could be your only chance to get invited." Jack said.

"What would we do?" Jeremy asked.

Caleb answered, "Simple, play games and get better at it."

"That's it? No catch?" Jeremy asked and they shook their heads.

"Alright." Matt agreed as Jeremy raised his eyebrows. "What? I like games."

"Then I'll join too. Did you guys get invited?" Jeremy asked.

"Yup, all ten of us." Lindsay said, smiling.

"Nine of us got invited." Jack mumbled under his breath and no one heard him.

Lindsay checked the time and stood, "I think it's time for you guys to go back to your house. C'mon, I'll walk you guys back."

The two exchanged looks, "Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Matt asked.

Michael said, "Just let her, she'll do it anyway." The two stood and they left the restaurant so the others could clean up the restaurant and leave for the night.


	2. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kdin has trouble making amends with Ray while the others watch a five-year long friendship hit the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry guys I haven't been updating much! My life's really shitty right now and I had to stop writing for a while. But to make up for it, I'm going to try my best to update everything. No promises though!
> 
> And remember, if there's any ships you want in this, then I'd be glad to add them to this story. Or if you have an idea you want to tell me, then comment and I'll see what I can do.

It was a battleground.

Gunshots filled their ears. Guns pointed at each other, greedy for kills. Heavy breathing, exhaustion was catching up to them. Blood-stained grass, bodies hitting the floor left and right. Their one objective failed.

The ground from underneath them sent a wave of energy pass throughout the whole map, indicating in a finished game. "Map: Crossroads. Game mode: Free-for-all. Round: Twenty. Round victor: Brownman. Game victor: Brownman. Thank you for playing! Your rewards will appear in front of you shortly and don't forget to receive your stat cards." FILSS announced as the map around them disintegrated to reveal a huge domed-room.

Taking off their gear and putting it neatly in their cases, nine of the ten Achievians and two Envisions met up in the break room. "Not bad for first-timers." Geoff commented to the Envisions. "So, how are you liking Achievement City so far?"

Shrugging, Jeremy replied, "It's alright. Honestly, I wasn't expecting Achievement City to be so... advanced in technology."

"We got most of this tech from you guys. You make the hardware, we make the software." Kdin said. "So, what do you guys do annually in Envision?"

"Invent." Matt answered as though it was obvious. "And whoever gets the executives' attention, they win the whole thing."

Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck and bit his lip, "What he's trying to say is that we have to be creative."

Michael and Kdin shared looks as Michael voiced his opinion, "Sounds kind of unfair, if you ask me. Shouldn't it be whichever will benefit the world rather than whichever looks coolest?"

"Tell that to the executives." Matt said and decided to change the subject. "By the way, which one of you is Brownman?" He asked as he looked at each of them.

Checking the time, Ryan answered, "Ray, he's over there." Pointing behind him, everyone looked over at Ray, who was sitting down on a bench in front of his open locker with his head low.

"Isn't he your friend?" Matt asked and they nodded. "Then why won't you talk to him. He looks distracted." Taking a step forward, Matt wanted to walk over there, but was immediately stopped by Michael and Kdin. "What?"

"Now is not the time." Kdin whispered. "He's pissed and if someone is going to do something about it, it'll be me."

"Then, why won't you do something about it?"

"Like I said, 'now is not the time'." Kdin reminded him.

"Hey!" Snapped their attention back to Ray as they saw three people walk up to him and Ray looked up fearfully at the three. "Who said you could use my holographic chamber?" The one at point asked angrily, walking closer to him as Ray slowly walked back, but the other two cornered him.

"Son of a bitch." Michael muttered under his breath, clenching his hands as they watched. "They're back. Looks like he didn't learn anything from coma." Turning from the lockers to the Achievians around him, Jeremy watched in confusion. Why weren't they doing anything?

"Why are you just standing there?" Matt asked for Jeremy as he took another step forward.

Stopping Matt from advancing, Michael hissed, "Stay back!" They all turned back to the scene at the lockers and Michael eyed Kdin, who stared with his hands and jaw clenched.

"I was just leaving." Ray said quietly as he closed his locker and turned to leave, but they pushed him back and he fell on the ground.

"I told you that if I found you in _my_ holographic chambers again, I would beat you." He said.

"Is now a good time?" Caleb asked Kdin and he sighed.

Licking his lips, the hacker answered, "Yea, it is." Calmly walking up to the four of them, Kdin made eye contact with Ray and nodded once. Tapping on the guy's shoulder and waiting for him to turn around, Kdin said, "Excuse me, but I believe that you're mistaken."

Turning to Kdin, the man looked him up and down, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"One, Ray is not yours anymore. Two, this isn't your holographic chamber, I actually own this one. And three, you don't mess with my friends." The hacker listed with his fingers as he curled his hand into a fist and punched him straight in the face.

Reeling back, the Achievian glared at Kdin, "You'll pay for that."

Clearing his throat, Kdin shrugged, "Okay, go on. Fight the nine of us." The Achievian noticed that the others walked over and now stood behind Kdin, intimidatingly.

Growling and turning to Ray, the Achievian promised, "I'll continue this later." He and the other two ran out of the holographic chamber.

The hacker offered his hand to the gamer, "I'm sorry. Y'know, for what happened yesterday." Blinking at the offered hand, Ray refused his help and stood up on his own and walked away from them and towards the counter across the room. Disappointed, Kdin sighed and put his hands in his pockets as he left the holographic chamber somberly, ignoring anyone who tried to talk to him.

Exchanging looks with the other Achievians, Geoff asked, "That's not good. I was certain Ray would accept his apology."

"It's never that easy." Michael commented as the two Envisions walked over.

"Explanation, or?" Jeremy asked.

Sighing, Michael replied, "That guy who confronted Ray was a previous boyfriend of his. Ray broke up with him and the guy went nuts, almost killing Ray and so we took the guy to the hospital and he went to a coma for the past six months. The only way to get out of a coma is if he learned his lesson, obviously he didn't."

"It's a punishment? You put people in a coma as a punishment?" Jeremy asked for clarification.

"No, not punishment. We call it a coma, but it really isn't. When someone has committed a 'crime'--there's barely any crimes nowadays--they are sent to the hospital to go into a coma. In the coma, various events happen in their dreams where they must learn their lesson to get out of the coma. I don't know how he got out and still could talk to Ray like that, but now that he's out, we'll have to watch out." Michael explained as the Envisions sucked in this information. Envision had prisons for criminals, so they had no idea what a coma was supposed to be like and with this information, they didn't _want_ to know what a coma was supposed to be like. It sounded dangerous. "Or at least, that's what the Rooster Teeth executives said."

"And you believe them?" Matt asked, curiously.

"Honestly? No, I don't." Michael answered.

"So, what's the deal with Kdin and Ray?"

"You'll have to ask them yourself." Ryan replied as he glanced at Ray, who was coming back with twelve cards in hand. Handing out one specific card to each of them--except he gave Michael two--Ray took his case and started to leave the holographic chamber. "Ray, wait up!" Ryan ran after him as he picked up his case and followed Ray out.

Jeremy examined the card that Ray gave him, "Statistics cards?" He pressed the one button on it and a hologram of his stats of the game showed up over the card.

Player Name: Jerem6401  
Rank: Beginner  
Game: Drop 'Em Dead  
Game Type: Virtual  
Game Mode: Free-for-all  
Game Map: High Line  
Number of Rounds Won: 0 out of 20  
Place: 9 of 12  
Total Kills: 32  
Total Deaths: 75  
Total Assists: 12  
K/D Ratio: 0.42%  
Accuracy: 38%  
Nemesis: Michael Jones  
Specialty: SMGs

There was probably more, but Jeremy pressed the button again and put away the card. "That was embarrassing." He said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck and Matt chuckled.

"It's expected from newcomers." Jack explained. "At least you did better than me. Virtual gameplay isn't really my specialty. Come on, let's head to the restaurant, we'll eat there."

"I'll meet you guys there. Kdin forgot his case." Michael said as they walked out together and Michael headed a different direction on his hover board.

Jeremy was about to ask a question, but Geoff beat him to it, "Before you ask, no, those two aren't actually brothers. They've just been friends their whole lives."

"They even look alike." Jeremy commented.

"They get that a lot. Over the years, they just learned to accept it, even though it annoyed them to the core." Kerry explained as they reached the restaurant. "I'll show you how things work around here, so if you're interested, you can join us!" Kerry said excitedly as they put their cases down near the front door and he pulled the Envisions towards the front counter.

°~∆∆∆~°

Entering the house, Michael dropped the two cases down near the door and walked immediately to Kdin's room, sighing when he saw that the hacker was hacking and placed his stat card on the desk. "When will you stop?" He asked quietly and carefully, unsure if Kdin was in a bad mood or not.

Typing shortcuts and passwords on the keyboard, Kdin stopped and pulled out the lollipop from his mouth with a pop to turn to Michael, "Stop what?"

"Doing this." Michael gestured to the screen and Kdin followed his gaze, but just hummed and put the lollipop back in his mouth to continue his typing spree. "I didn't know it was going to get this addicting."

"It's not addicting." He said with the lollipop still in his mouth. "I'm doing a favor for Geoff." He explained simply as he typed.

"Like you did a favor for Ray." The pressing of keys stopped suddenly and the hacker rested his hands on the keyboard as he stared at the computer screen for a while and Michael pursed his lips. "You can't fix this by making yourself seem like the hero." Silence filled the room and Michael continued, "You can't expect Ray to forgive you because you saved him from his scary ex-boyfriend." He still received no response from him. "Distracting yourself by hacking and possibly getting caught will get you nowhere. You're making your chances slimmer and you know that I can't help you when they catch you. Why are you throwing away your life so recklessly?" Michael asked softly as he saw Kdin's hands slightly shaking. Michael sighed, "It already happened to--"

Hitting his desk, Kdin yelled, "You don't mention that! I _know_ that I'm an _asshole_! I know that I'm _destroying_ my chances! I know that I might _die_! I KNOW! You don't have to _fucking_ remind me!" Breathing deeply, Kdin started to calm down and stared at the floor with his head low, "I'm tired of people constantly telling me that I'm worthless. That I'm doing everything wrong. Why do you think I started hacking in the first place?" Michael stayed silent, unsure if he was supposed to answer or not. "I wanted to fix my mistakes. Sadly, I can't fix my mistakes with Ray and I'm sorry. I'm so goddamn sorry that I'm a heartless asshole who can't do anything right."

Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, Michael replied, "You're not a heartless asshole. Nor are you worthless. Everyone makes mistakes and some more than others. I'm not here to lecture you--"

"Sure sounds like it." Kdin remarked quietly.

"I'm here to help you."

Sitting up in his chair, Kdin turned to Michael, "Again, are you sure you're not trying to make every situation gay?"

"Are you sure you're not going gay for Ray?"

"How is that even related?"

"Why are you avoiding the question?"

"I'm not avoiding the question."

"Then why aren't you answering it?"

"Because it's not relevant at all to what we're talking about."

"It is very relevant."

"No, it's not." The hacker said as he turned back to his computer to finish putting Geoff on the invitation list. "If it was relevant, then I would answer."

"It's relevant now, isn't it?"

"No."

"Why won't you just answer the question?"

"Because it has nothing to do with what we were previously talking about."

"You're just avoiding the question because you don't want to admit that you like Ray."

"Well, I don't."

"See? How hard was that to answer a simple question?"

"Very hard, when I'm trying to work."

"Aren't you the master at multitasking?"

"No."

"Now you're answering all of my questions?"

"No."

"You did it again."

"Whatever, let's go before the others decide to call us." Kdin said as they stood up and left the house, heading for the restaurant. Flipping open their gauntlets, the two activated their hover boards and blasted off for the restaurant located at the other side of town.

"You sure you're okay?" Michael asked.

"Yea, I've been worse."

"I know, that's why I'm worried."

"Stop babying me, okay? I'm a grown ass man, I can take care of myself."

"You're seventeen." Michael reminded him.

"Close enough."

"Plus, I'm the bigger brother. I have to take care of my younger sibling." Michael said as he smiled and ruffled Kdin's hair.

"Hey!" Kdin whined, moving away from Michael to fix his hair. "I'm only a year younger than you."

"You're still younger." They jumped off their hover boards.

"Plus! We're not even brothers. We're friends who seem like brothers."

Wrapping an arm around Kdin, Michael pulled him close as they walked, "Brothers aren't supposed to be so close to each other."

"Physically or mentally?"

"Both."

"What makes you think that?"

"Of everything I've seen, brothers are supposed to love slash hate each other."

"Of everything you've seen?" Kdin questioned and Michael nodded. "That's an unreliable source. Ow!" Kdin rubbed his arm.

"See? Love, hate relationship." Michael said, smirking.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Nope." They arrived at the restaurant and saw a glimpse of one of the others in the kitchen. Walking over to the counter, they narrowly dodged a fork thrown in their direction and it stuck on the counter. "What the fuck?" Michael questioned as the two exchanged looks and cautiously walked closer to the kitchen. The scene before them made them freeze and double take, staring expectantly at their friends and their jaws practically hit the ground.

Blinking, Kdin asked, "What the actual fuck is happening?"

"Y'know, just, hanging around as they throw knives and we cower in fear of getting stabbed. The usual." Caleb explained. Multiple forks and knives were in the ground and wall as the others stood at the opposite side of the kitchen. Eyeing the many instances where the knives and forks could of burst a pipe or sliced through something important, the two were surprised that someone wasn't killed yet.

Lindsay pushed the others--with the exception of Ryan and Gavin--out of the kitchen and closed the door, "Gavin is trying to prove to Ryan that he can throw a knife by holding it by the blade and stick it in the wall." They sat in chairs as they continued their conversation.

"So, why is he using forks?" Michael asked, pointing at the fork on the counter.

"Ran out of knives. They were too lazy to get the knives and reasoned that forks would work and somehow Ryan made it work." Kerry answered.

"You guys have the weirdest ways of having fun." Matt commented.

"We are the weirdest bunch of people you'll ever meet. Sorry." Geoff said, smiling.

"What's a normal day like for you guys?" Matt asked.

"Games, work, games, then sleep. Then we repeat everything all over again." Jack answered, half-heartedly.

"Speaking of games, I remember that the headmaster said something about VEMP. What's that?" Jeremy asked.

Everyone turned to Ray, who was staring at nothing in particular, and expected him to answer. Sighing, Ray stood when he noticed that they were waiting for him and opened his gauntlet as their surroundings changed suddenly to a pure black. "VEMP gameplay is the highest form of gameplay anyone can master. VEMP is an acronym for virtual, emotional, mental, and physical." He listed off with his fingers and below them was a group of people shooting at each other. "Virtual gives you a test, usually it's one round, sudden death--so no respawns--and limited resources. It gives you a scenario and you have to survive for as long as possible. Though it's virtual, or unreal, your character still has your capabilities. So let's say you can't climb a tree in real life, in the game, you wouldn't be able to climb a tree. Can't fire a gun? Same thing. It's all random, at least for virtual. You could be in the middle of a war--like those people down there--in a zombie apocalypse, or you could be in a car accident and you have to get out before the car explodes. It's not all survival though, so don't get too excited."

Around them, an eerie looking room appeared and it sent shivers down most of their spines as they looked around. It was a room for a baby, it contained a crib, a chest full of toys, a drawer full of tiny clothes, and the walls were covered in butterflies or cute animals. What was eerie about it? The window was open--giving a slight breeze that they could feel--the walls were covered in blood and scratch marks, and the baby was crying as a creepy lullaby played in the background. The whole room screamed horror. Ray continued his explanation suddenly, which made some of the others jump, "Emotional gives you a scenario that will hurt you to the core. It's not usually horror, but it most likely will be." On cue, the door creaked open and someone came in with the creepiest mask that they've ever seen. The masked person walked over to the baby slowly and looked down at the baby as the infant cried more and the person put one finger over his masked mouth to quiet the baby, but it continued to cry. "Even though it's not real, it may seem like it. The objective in Emotional? Simple, keep a calm mind and control yourself, it's not real." The man pulled out a knife as the others turned to Ray, who just stared at the man and baby. The man inched closer towards the baby and drew his hand back before pushing his hand down forcefully. "Moving on." Ray said before the man stabbed the still-crying baby--the blade was touching the tip of the baby's nose.

A game show appeared around them and the contestants were visibly speaking, but they couldn't hear anything. "Mental allows you to use your knowledge about anything. Different scenarios for this one. You could be in a trivia game show, playing something like chess, or given a team of people to reach an objective and must figure out the best strategy to reach your objective. There's not much to mental gameplay, it's rather straightforward."

Military men training at a boot camp appeared as they went through an obstacle course over and over again. "Physical is one of the hardest. It improves you physically, so you could do many things. For me, I like doing parkour. I have to be agile, flexible, and strong enough to at least carry myself. They give you an obstacle course, much like this one, and you have to do all of it in a specific amount of time or else you don't pass. VEMP is important because the Rooster Teeth Games, or RTG because I'm lazy, revolves around VEMP. If you can't beat VEMP, then you won't win the RTG. Any other questions?" Ray asked as he closed his gauntlet and they were back in the restaurant as Ryan and Gavin were sitting on the counter, waiting for them and chatting.

"Did you have to use that hologram for emotional?" Jeremy asked.

Ray shrugged, "It was the first one I found."

"Could we play VEMP next time?" Matt asked.

The Achievians exchanged unsure looks, then turned back to Matt, "Yea, but you've been warned, it'll be the worst experience you've ever had." Michael promised as they readied dinner, ate, and went home for the night.

°~◊◊◊~°

"Welcome to the holographic chamber!" FILSS welcomed happily. "Please choose a Game Type." FILSS instructed as a screen appeared in front of Ray.

Hovering his finger over VEMP, Ray looked at the Envisions questioningly, "You sure you want to do this? Once I choose it, there is no turning back." The Envisions nodded confidently and Ray tapped 'VEMP' as the text changed. _Would you like teams?_ It asked as the gamer looked back at the others. "Same or different?"

"Same." Geoff replied as Ray clicked yes and typed in the teams.

"Blue Team consists of Brownman, BM Vagabond, and MPSpam. Red Team consists of DGGeoff, Monki5225, Lt Ultima, GavinoFree, LindsayTuggLife--"

"Nine on three?" Matt questioned as FILSS continued to list the Player Names.

"It's our usual teams. Those three work together tremendously well." Gavin informed, gesturing to Ray, Ryan, and Kdin.

"Won't there be conflict." Jeremy asked, referring to Kdin and Ray.

"Games are their specialty, so whenever we play together and there are teams they are always together. And if they have problems with each other, then they put those problems aside and do their best no matter what. It's what happens when you devote your life to games." Caleb explained.

"Would you like to pick specific games to play for each Game Type or randomize it?" FILSS asked.

Tapping 'randomize', Ray continued to edit the rules as the others waited patiently. "Any regrets yet?" Ray asked as he focused on the screen.

"I'll notify you once I do." Matt replied.

"Thank you!" FILSS exclaimed as the screen in front of Ray disappeared. "Please step on your designated pedestals." FILSS instructed as twelve pedestals slowly moved up across the room and they lit up as a floating Player Name rotated above each of the pedestals. They exchanged looks before walking over to the pedestals and standing on them. The pedestal suddenly moved and they were moved into separate rooms and a needle danced around each of them before inserting some type of lime green liquid into them. "Initiating VEMP gameplay. Good luck!" The last words they heard before everything turned black.

°~◊◊◊~°

"Generating Virtual gameplay map." FILSS said.

Materializing in front of Kdin and Ray, Ryan looked around the place, it was pitch black, the only colors coming from his teammates. "Still annoyed by this part." Ryan commented.

"At least you got used to it over the years." Ray replied.

"Yea, I guess so. How are we doing this?" Ryan asked.

"Same thing we always do." Kdin answered as their surroundings were materializing around them. The dark blue sky and bunches of leaves on trees were slowly appearing around them and soon they could see a metal ceiling above them and a small doorway to their right. Their weapons and utility appeared on their belts and backs as they examined their equipment. "Sniper?" Kdin asked Ray.

Ray checked the sight on the bolt action sniper rifle, "Of course." He answered as a timer appeared in front of each of them. Thirty seconds until the game starts, they noted quickly as they prepared their weapons and took their sweet time to do so. "Communications?"

Shrugging, Ryan answered, "Doesn't matter to me." The two turned to Kdin.

He checked the rounds in his two pistols and smiled, "Nah, we'll be fine." They exited the small building and Kdin and Ryan crouched behind a broken wall and Ray stood behind the nearest building as they turned off their communications, nodding at each other. Five seconds left. They counted down in their heads and once it hit zero, Ray swung around and cocked his gun quickly, shooting at a target.

_Brownman sniped DGGeoff_

Appeared on the bottom left corner of everyone's field of vision.

"What the fuck?!" Geoff yelled loudly, even though his opponents couldn't hear him. "Every single fucking time!"

Chuckling, Michael remarked, "Better find a different hiding spot Geoff."

"I've hid in every nook and cranny in this whole goddamn map on many occasions! Why does he still manage to find me?" Geoff shouted as the others tried to ignore him, so they could focus on the game. "Oh yea, just ignore your leader!"

"Shut up, Geoff! We're trying to at least survive a couple of seco--" Gavin was cut off as a bullet imbedded into his skull.

_BM Vagabond shot GavinoFree_

"You were saying?" Geoff replied, laughing.

Laughing his ass off, Michael said, "Good job, boi! You survived for more than five seconds."

"They really are coordinated." Jeremy said, watching Kdin and Ryan from afar. They looked like they were dancing around their cover. Kdin shot at one side of the map and Ryan shot at the other, switching sides when they were being shot at and hiding behind cover to avoid getting shot at. Aiming at Kdin since he was distracted, Jeremy took the shot, but Kdin had moved his head slightly to the side, the bullet grazing his cheek and making him bleed. Stopping as Ryan continued to shoot, the hacker touched his wound and looked at his blood-stained fingers. The hacker moved his gaze up to Jeremy as he cocked his gun hurriedly and Kdin aimed at Jeremy, then ducked soon afterward as he shot somewhere else.

_MPSpam riddled Monki5225_

_Brownman sniped Jerem6401_

"What the fuck was that?" Jeremy asked.

"That was called teamwork." Jack answered as they watched their team get cornered by Ryan and Kdin. "Ray shot you as Kdin killed me instead."

"That sucks."

Spinning, Ryan went back to back with Kdin and they shot at their surrounding opponents, ducking down as Ray shot between them. If the two hesitated for even half a second, then he would have killed one of them.

_BM Vagabond shot Lt Ultima_

_Brownman sniped Bender65_

_MPSpam shot LindsayTuggLife_

"Goddammit." Michael breathed out. "I fucking hate it when they do that."

"We also don't know when they are going to do that." Lindsay said.

"That's why I hate it." Michael replied.

Lowering the sniper, Ray took out a revolver and walked out. "Two left." Ray simply said as he walked pass his two teammates and towards his two opponents. "Free kill." Ray said as Matt panicked and shot at Ray, completely missing and stumbling onto his back out of cover.

"Dammit, Matt." Caleb said as he tried to get a good angle to shoot at Ray and even tried to move closer, but he felt a barrel on his skull, raising his hands in defeat. "That's just great." He said before hearing two shots.

_MPSpam executed caleb loves you_

_BM Vagabond shot AxialMatt_

_Blue Team wins Virtual Gamplay!_

The text appeared in front of them and their surroundings disintegrated, leaving only the players. They walked towards each other, "That was a shit game." Geoff said, pouting. "Why is it always me?"

"Because you're the leader." Ray defended. "If the team depends on the leader, then when I kill the leader, they'll go into chaos."

"And chaos you did enter." Ryan replied as screens appeared in front of them, telling them their results. Tapping next to check his rewards, Ryan said, "You knew it was coming anyway. So, you should have been prepared." The screens disappeared once they were done searching.

"Did you purposefully all get the same amount of kills?" Matt asked, looking at the game scoreboard.

Kdin nodded, "Yea, it's a thing we have to do for some reason."

"But there were ten of you, so you would get an uneven amount of kills." Jeremy pointed out as the Achievians acted like they didn't hear what he said, which Jeremy and Matt noticed quickly.

"Generating Physical gameplay map." FILSS announced as their surroundings materialized in front of them. A timer for one minute started in their field of vision.

Jeremy looked up at the tall building and whistled, "That's one huge building." He was suddenly regretting everything about this.

Walking up next to him and patting his back, Ryan replied, "Don't worry about it. It's only one hundred and fifty stories." He said it like it was nothing and it probably was for them, but for the two Envisions it was terrifyingly tall. "It's simple. We have to scale the building, put your flag up there and come back down safely." Once again, he made it sound easy.

"There is no way I'm going to be able to climb that myself." Matt said.

"That's why you're in a team." Michael reminded him. "Besides, there's always some part of the building where we have to work together to get up."

"Can't we just climb the stairs?" Jeremy asked, sighing.

Gavin shook his head, "The building isn't hollow. The only way up is the ledges."

"And what if we fall?" Matt mentioned.

Lindsay smiled, "FILSS is here to keep us safe, so FILSS'll catch you somehow. You won't get hurt, it's impossible to physically get hurt in a simulation."

Matt groaned, "That still doesn't make us feel better."

"Don't worry about it!" Kerry said, smiling from ear to ear. "You'll be fine!"

"There's nothing to worry about." Caleb replied. "Unless one of you have acrophobia. In other words, fear of heights."

"After this, I'll be forever scarred." Jeremy said.

"At times like these, you'll just have to forget about those fears." Geoff responded as pistols appeared in front of them.

"Okay, why the fuck do we have pistols, limited ammo, and health bars?" Jeremy asked, staring at the lack of ammo he carried.

Reloading his gun, Jack simply said, "There are drones that'll constantly try to kill you."

Ray cocked his pistol and looked down the sights at Matt, "No one said that this was going to be easy. Good luck!" Ray said as a goodbye as the timer chimed zero and Kdin and Ryan followed him. They each jumped and grabbed onto different ledges and started scaling the building, already reaching the seventh floor in one minute.

Staring up at them, Jeremy sighed, "Please tell me we have a time limit."

"Nope." Michael simply said as the others ran towards the building to start climbing. "Hurry up!" Michael called to them, "The drones will be coming out in thirty seconds!" He warned them as they reluctantly started to climb the building and their team waited for them to help them get in the hang of it.

"There, see? You're getting it!" Kerry pointed out, smiling. Geoff and Jack stayed behind the Envisions to catch the two in case they fall. A deafening sound emanated around them and it echoed in their head as drones of all sizes came lurking up to them and shooting at them.

"Shit!" Geoff exclaimed as he took out his pistol and shot at the drones. "Kerry, Gavin, Jack, Jeremy and Matt, all of you will continue to climb while the rest of us distract the drones and keep their attention on us. Got it?" They nodded and did as they were told. "How far are Ray, Kdin, and Ryan?" Geoff asked a few minutes later.

Looking up the building, Michael answered, "They're already on the eighty-second floor and it's only been seven minutes."

"That's a new record for them." Caleb said, reloading his gun. "Are we going to win this one?"

"The real question is if they'll let us." Lindsay replied.

"I've got a stupid idea." Geoff announced.

"Oh, this'll be great." Michael breathed out.

“Hey, my ideas are awesome!” Geoff replied.

“Yet, we still somehow end up getting rinsed.” Michael countered half-heartedly.

“At least I try.” Geoff said. “And the plan is working so far.”

“What’s your idea?” Caleb asked, staying on the topic at hand.

"Okay, who are the three fastest at climbing out of Red Team?" Geoff asked.

"Michael, Gavin, and I." Caleb answered.

"You guys climb, while we distract the drones. Since there's only three of them, we'll only need three of us to make it up there to put the flag down and then we all climb down." Geoff explained.

"That's the best plan you've ever come up with, Geoff." Michael teased.

"Hey, I come up with great plans!" Geoff argued as Michael laughed. "Whatever, just get with the plan." Michael and Caleb started to catch up to the others.

"Attention all players!" FILSS started. "Attention all players! Your whole team must make it to the top to place the flag down!" FILSS announced and Geoff face palmed.

The two stopped climbing to look down at Geoff, _"What now, Boss?"_ Caleb asked over their communications as Geoff looked around and smiled when he gained an idea.

Looking up at the building and to his teammates, Geoff stated simply, "We ride our way up." Everyone exchanged looks as Geoff rolled his eyes, "Just do as I do." Their leader let go of the building and started falling as the others yelled after him about how he was a crazy lunatic and they were going to kill him if the fall didn't. Suddenly, something quick caught Geoff and it circled around to the other building where they couldn't see him anymore.

"Geoff? Geoff?! Are you okay?" Michael tried several minutes later, but received no response.

Suddenly, joy-filled screams roared through the air as a drone flew towards them from below and passed them, circling around the building again and slowing down next to them as they noticed who was on the drone. "C'mon!" Geoff yelled joyfully as he flew around.

"Crazy son of a bitch." Michael muttered as he looked at the others and sighed. "You're paying for my medical bill." He said as he let go of the building and fell until he caught sight of a drone and grabbed it, gaining control of it quickly. When the other Achievians saw how flawlessly Michael performed that bit, they quickly followed without a second thought as the two Envisions exchanged looks, thinking that the Achievians were insane. Minutes later, the Achievians flew towards the Envisions and smiled at the two. Outstretching his hand towards Matt, Michael smirked, "No one's going to force you to jump off a building. C'mon, let's beat those losers." Matt smiled and jumped off the building, catching Michael's hand as Michael pulled him onto the drone. Caleb caught Jeremy when he reluctantly jumped and let go of the building.

"Alright, Red Team, let's go!" Geoff commanded as they flew up, spotting Blue Team five stories away from the top. "C'mon!" Geoff said through grit teeth. Red Team was still a good fifty stories away.

Four stories.

Three stories.

Two stories.

One story.

At the exact same moment, Blue Team jumped onto the top of the building as homing missiles went after the drones Red Team were on, forcing Red Team to jump off the drones in midair and land onto the building as the drones exploded behind them and bits and pieces of the drones landed around them. Quickly kipping up off the floor, Gavin ran towards the flag stands and pulled his arm back as a red flag materialized in his hand and he put the flag in its rightful stand at the same time Ray put Blue Team's flag in. Drones shot at them immediately and flew closer to them, the shots moving closer to Jeremy as he backed away closer towards the edge of the building. "Jeremy!" Matt yelled and ran to catch Jeremy as he lost his footing and began to fall. A second too late, Matt slid just a bit over the edge of the building and watched Jeremy's decent towards the ground. Kdin grabbed Matt's ankles and pulled him onto the safety of the building as Matt quickly stood up and dusted himself off. "Why are you just fucking standing there? Fucking do something!" Matt demanded harshly.

Lindsay spoke up, "FILSS, recover Jeremy Dooley." A few seconds later, Lindsay cursed under her breath, "She's not responding."

"Of course, she's not responding." Kdin replied as he caught a glimpse of Ray taking a few steps back and broke into a sprint. "Hey Ray! Wait!" He tried to grab the gamer, but Ray jumped off the building and flew towards Jeremy. "Damnit." Kdin muttered.

Giving the hacker a look, Ryan heard Kdin sigh and smirked, running and jumping off the building with Kdin following immediately afterwards. "What are they fucking crazy?!" Matt asked incredulously and watched.

"Well, you asked them to do something." Kerry pointed out. "And they are."

Geoff put a hand on Matt's shoulder and pulled him back behind him, "Don't worry. As long as they don't hit the ground, they'll be fine."

"And if they _do_ hit the ground?" Matt asked.

Pursing his lips, Geoff turned to look at Matt, "We don't know, no one has ever hit the ground before."

The sound of wind filled their ears and they squinted their eyes as they located Jeremy quickly. Ray continued to fall as the other two slowed their decent and each grabbed a drone, Kdin hacking into the one he grabbed and Ryan shot at the control system on the one he grabbed. Ray fell closer to Jeremy who was flailing his arms and legs around as Ray outstretched his hand and Jeremy did the same. "Panic even more and you'll fall faster." Ray yelled nonchalantly over the sound of wind and grabbed Jeremy's hand. "Ready?"

"For what?" Jeremy asked confused as Ray didn't answer and used all of his strength to pull Jeremy behind him towards Ryan and Kdin. Ryan grabbed the Envision and pulled him up onto the drone as Kdin controlled the drone to fly faster to reach Ray in time. Twenty seconds until impact. Kdin noted quickly and outstretched his arm to grab Ray's hand, but the hacker closed his eyes and made a hasty decision. Kdin jumped off the drone and quickly grabbed Ray's arm and pulled and pushed him towards the floating, still drone as Ray landed safely onto it. Looking over the edge, Ray looked down at Kdin in shock and terror, holding his hand out for his friend to grab even though he was too far away already and watching as the hacker's body connected suddenly with the ground floor.

Someone yelling his name was the last thing Kdin heard before blacking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions? Comments? Criticism? Ships? Ideas? Comment below!
> 
> And the summary of this chapter was clever, right? No? Oh well, I'll try next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Just a reminder that I want to know what kinds of ships you want to see in this. It could be a polyamorous relationship as well, so yea. Let me know!
> 
> Questions? Criticism? Prompts for AHOT12? Encouragement? Ships you wanna see in this? Comment below!


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